

You can find additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here.
#TORCHLIGHT II REVIEW IGN CODE#
The game was reviewed using a final “retail” Switch download code provided by Perfect World Entertainment. 3 on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. And having both on the go via the Switch, where a lengthy commute can be whiled away while smashing rock elementals with big hammers, is a gift to us all. They’re both pinnacles of action RPG design that coming at the genre in different ways.

Of course, the classic question remains: Is Torchlight 2 better than Diablo 3? But I’m not sure that it matters. This is another way that Torchlight 2’s aesthetic continues to help it the game looks far less muddy on Switch than Diablo 3 does. Panic Button, a seasoned porting house behind the Switch versions of Doom and Warframe, managed to jam in all of the detail of the original game without having to decrease the resolution or frame rate in any noticeable way.

The game’s age also seems to work in its favor when it comes to performance, as Torchlight 2 run smoothly even on Nintendo Switch. The colorful, stylized look of the characters doesn’t seem dated, especially with the camera pulled back for a wider view of the action. That might have been a disappointment for most games - this is a 7-year-old game, after all - but Torchlight 2 has aged wonderfully. Torchlight 2 is mostly untouched outside of the controls, however. Digging through your piles of loot is a painless process. Inventory management has also been reimagined, lifting the ingenious radial menus of Diablo 3’s console ports. There’s no clicking required here, as Torchlight 2 lets you move your character directly with the analog stick while assigning skills to various face buttons and triggers.
#TORCHLIGHT II REVIEW IGN PC#
The biggest difference between this console version of Torchlight 2 and the original PC release are the controls, which had to be playable on a console controller instead of a mouse and keyboard. For people who were turned off by the simplification of Diablo 3’s skill system, Torchlight 2 felt like a continuation of Diablo 2’s more hardcore design tenets. Torchlight 2 fleshed that approach out even further, adding online multiplayer and a deeper campaign. The original Torchlight dipped its toes into those waters as a light, if sometimes mindless, action game, while adding quality-of-life features like pets that could travel back to town and sell unwanted loot. The Torchlight franchise has always been about finding ways to improve on the standards set by Diablo. Real talk: I’ve only found one great loot-centric action-RPG on Switch, and it’s Diablo 3.
#TORCHLIGHT II REVIEW IGN PORTABLE#
The hybrid console and portable seems like it would be the perfect platform for lengthy action RPGs, but there are very few Diablo-style games to be found on Nintendo’s console, and even fewer great ones. Which is why Torchlight 2’s arrival on Switch is such a blessing. Its main competitor? Believe it or not, Diablo 3. But Torchlight 2 is finally getting a console release on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, after a seven-year wait. Torchlight 2 has since faded into obscurity as a PC-only game, while Diablo 3 was updated, ported, and supported throughout its life. Torchlight 2 was the Pepsi to Diablo 3’s New Coke.

Going up against the king of the genre is a rough go, but Torchlight 2 earned a dedicated fan base, many of whom had bounced off Blizzard’s game, which was suffering from a variety of launch issues. The loot-heavy, top-down action RPG was released in 2012, the same year as Diablo 3.
